Is Kevin Poon Hong Kong’s best-connected entrepreneur? The Clot and Elephant Grounds co-founder has Kanye West, David Beckham and Pharrell on speed dial … but was once a ‘super chubby’ bullied kid
- Kevin Poon co-founded streetwear brand Clot and retail store Juice with bestie Edison Chen, is behind F&B brands Elephant Grounds, Margo and Cardinal Point, and just opened a fifth Woaw Gallery
- The ‘shyperactive’ serial entrepreneur opens up to Style about fatherhood, turning 40 and getting fired from his first job in the music industry
If we had to base Kevin Poon’s net worth on his network, then he would be a multimillionaire.
The “cultural entrepreneur” is one of Hong Kong’s most plugged-in residents, with a contacts list that includes American musicians Kanye West and Pharrell, ultimate football hero David Beckham and hipster artists like Takashi Murakami and Kaws. He is so well known in high-profile social circles in New York, Paris, Tokyo and Los Angeles, that he is apparently often referred by just his initials.
But by his own account, “KP” wasn’t always the popular social connector that he is today.
“I dropped off my son to school this morning and thought to myself, ‘He’s going to be a cool kid,’ which is the total opposite of me. I was super chubby, short and got bullied a lot. I think I became social later in life by default,” he jokes.
Poon and I are sitting in the newly opened Woaw Gallery in Wan Chai, the fifth outpost of the contemporary art gallery concept and “passion project” he founded during the pandemic. It’s one of many ventures – or “side hustles” as he likes to call them – that has seen climb the ranks among the city’s most pioneering and creative entrepreneurs.
Listing them would take up a big chunk of this article, but highlights include streetwear brand Clot and retail store Juice, independent coffee roaster Elephant Grounds and hip hospitality venues like Margo. The latest, Cardinal Point, which he calls a food and beverage “concept within a concept”, boasts a sleek outdoor bar, an arts club, and Chinese, Japanese and French restaurants.
“Being entrepreneurial was my idea of freedom and allowed me to break free from relying on people. I didn’t come from mega generational wealth, so I was always trying to take care of my mother,” says Poon.
“Everything I’ve done comes from a personal need, or from a consumer’s point of view. I’m always curious and looking to try new things so I’ve managed to tap into this collective consciousness of people who are on my wavelength and who want to do cool things. We bounce ideas off each other and that’s how many of these projects happen. I just go with the flow.”
